Considering that this site has oodles of study resources, such kind of things like Bible commentaries, Dictionaries, and lexicons of which are all free, I recommend you download as many as you would like to have. But that is not all, e-Sword has an incredibly great download manager which you can download for free some or all of the official resources such as different Bible translations, Dictionaries, Commentaries, and etc.

But it just doesn't stop there. You also have eStudySource.com, which holds all premium resources for e-Sword, of which you can purchase. The prices there are extremely reasonable.

So, as you can see, there is a great deal of wealth of Bible study resources available, of which the overwhelming majority of them are free.

Just as a matter of interest, from what I can gather, e-Sword has the largest repository of electronic Bible Study resources of any Bible Study software. Moreover, e-Sword enjoys a massive user support network of which a number of them create new resources almost daily.

What we have here could be regarded as the largest worldwide network of Christians creating resources for Bible study, of the quality that can be used in Bible College, University, and Theological Seminaries. I don't think that when Rick Meyers created e-Sword 18 years ago, Glory to God, that he would have dreamed this work would have gone to the extent and growth that it is today. And guess what?! And is still growing.

This is amazing, and one can really see God's hand in this work. And so with that, we can really give thanks and praise to God for raising men such as Rick Meyers and Josh Bond for the work they have done. And also Give God the glory, which He richly deserves, for those who tirelessly work in the creation of resources for this program. And I can honestly assert this, that to many this has been of a great cost to them.

Blessings,

Thanks for providing this information to me. It is such a valuable asset that I will definitely use.

use a concordance for study of words (Greek/Hebrew) in their context so that it helps you understand the context you are studying. The more you study, the better you understand. concordance also can help you find verse to help understand the context or word. read pg 1 guidelines on words in the tdot-tdnt link below. Some material may be advanced

I'm a new Christian and I'm having trouble understanding certain scripture verses such as Mark 16:18. Will a concordance translate this verse for me or what do I use. This verse about the serpent makes no sense to me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Greg

Hi Greg the following principles may help you in your studies.

Eight hermeneutical principles

1. Interpret in light of the context of the passage.

You may have been told that you can make Bible say anything you want. In one way this is true. If we just lift verses out of their context, we can be very creative. But if we follow this rule, we'll need to be more careful about how we look at particular verses. 1Pe_3:21. "Baptism now saves you." But what about the rest of the verse?

2. Interpret in the light of "progressive revelation."

God revealed his will to us over time. We must be aware of the period of time we are dealing with before we conclude the meaning of a passage. Polygamy was openly practised at points in the Old Testament. However, it is specifically rejected in Matthew 19. Jews were responsible for living under the Law in the Old Testament (Exo_19:5). Yet Christians are told to not live under the Law (2Co_3:7; Gal_5:1-5).

3. Interpret in harmony with other scriptures.

We can't make our interpretation conflict with what other passages teach. Going back to the 1Pe_3:21 example, those who teach salvation by baptism need to be aware that it directly contradicts Joh_1:12; Eph_2:8-9; Rom_10:9.

4. Interpret the unclear in light of the clear.

Every important doctrine is taught clearly and repeatedly in the Bible. There are some odd passages which have an unclear meaning. Always interpret the unclear passages consistently with well established ones. We must also keep in mind that some passages are so vague that the meaning may never be known.
1Co_15:29. "Baptism for the dead."

5. Interpret the meaning out of the passage, rather than reading into it.

That is what "exegesis" means. Consider Barclay's commentary on Mark 5. Most modern scholars interpret things like demon possession as schizophrenia or epilepsy.

6. Interpret the spirit, not merely the letter.

The literal meaning of words can't be separated from the intent of the author. Pro_15:1. "Gentle words turn away wrath." Yes, but this isn't always true. It is a general truth. Pro_22:6. "Train your child in the ways of the Lord and he will not depart from the path." Again, this does not mean that kids can't rebel. It just means that a parent has a lot of influence over their children.

7. Emphasize what the Bible emphasizes.

This is where so many groups and people go wrong. The importance of a passage is gauged in terms of what is emphasized by the rest of scripture. Lots of people have gotten carried away by the charismatic gifts. Yet the Bible doesn't seem all that concerned about it. In fact, most of the biblical instruction has to do with chronic misuse of the gifts.

8. Interpret with dependence on the Holy Spirit.

1Jn_2:27. The Bible is more than an academic book. It is God's word, and we need the illumination of the Holy Spirit to teach us not only the meaning of the passage, but what God is saying to us personally through it. That's what Heb_4:12 is getting at also. Tragically, many great theologians and Bible scholars know a great deal about the text, but very little of the author.

I’m willing to compromise about many things, but not the Word of God

“DISCERNMENT is not simply telling the difference between what is Right and Wrong;